Top Items:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
Obama Announces U.S. and Cuba Will Resume Relations — WASHINGTON — The United States will restore full diplomatic relations with Cuba and open an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century after the release of an American contractor held in prison for five years, President Obama announced on Wednesday.
Discussion:
USA Today, The White House, The Hill, Washington Post, The Huffington Post, CNN, Washington Monthly, Business Insider, Spectator, JSOnline, Religion News Service, Addicting Info, Outside the Beltway, Gigaom, Gawker, Talking Points Memo, Poynter, Taylor Marsh, National Review, Washington Free Beacon and Balloon Juice
RELATED:
Katie Glueck / Politico:
Republicans livid over Cuba talks, call it appeasement — Republican reacted with outrage Wednesday over the Obama administration's move to normalize relations with Cuba, with some lawmakers casting it as appeasement and the product of extortion by the communist Castro government.
Discussion:
The Hill, NPR, ABC News, Guardian, Hot Air, CNN, Outside the Beltway, Religion Dispatches, New York Times, Washington Post and Hinterland Gazette
Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Marco Rubio Challenges The Pope On Obama's New Cuba Policy — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) torched President Barack Obama's new policy aimed at normalizing U.S. diplomatic relations with Cuba on Wednesday, and addressed Pope Francis' support for the president's move.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Balloon Juice and Daily Kos
Associated Press:
AP sources: US, Cuba seek to normalize relations — 1 photo — WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Cuba will start talks on normalizing full diplomatic relations, marking the most significant shift in U.S. policy toward the communist island in decades, American officials said Wednesday.
Discussion:
ThinkProgress, Associated Press, The Huffington Post, Fox News, Bloomberg, Jezebel, Talking Points Memo, Caracas Chronicles, Mediaite, Raw Story, emptywheel, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, BREITBART.COM, Gawker, HardballTalk, The Daily Caller, Firedoglake, No More Mister Nice Blog, Shakesville, Slantpoint and Townhall.com
Elise Labott / CNN:
Cuba releases American Alan Gross, paves way for historic easing of American sanctions
Cuba releases American Alan Gross, paves way for historic easing of American sanctions
Discussion:
National Journal, TVNewser, Vox, Pressure Points, CNBC, DCist, The Verge, Towleroad News #gay, Hit & Run, Daily Signal, Daily Kos, Slantpoint, Liberaland, The Dish and RedState
Reuters:
Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul
Florida's Cuban Americans rejoice at U.S. policy overhaul
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos and Booman Tribune
Evan McMurry / Mediaite:
Rubio Lays into Obama's Cuba Moves: ‘Worst Negotiator in Modern U.S. History’
Rubio Lays into Obama's Cuba Moves: ‘Worst Negotiator in Modern U.S. History’
Discussion:
BREITBART.COM, The Gateway Pundit and TheBlaze.com
Erica Werner / Associated Press:
AP Interview: McConnell wants to stop coal rules
AP Interview: McConnell wants to stop coal rules
Discussion:
Politico and The World's Greatest …
James Oliphant / National Journal:
Obama Goes Cowboy on Cuba
City Journal:
The Last Communist City — A visit to the dystopian Havana that tourists never see
The Last Communist City — A visit to the dystopian Havana that tourists never see
Discussion:
Hot Air and Slantpoint
Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
White House Credits Pope Francis For Facilitating Cuba Deal
White House Credits Pope Francis For Facilitating Cuba Deal
Discussion:
Bollettino Sala Stampa …, The Daily Caller, BREITBART.COM and Daily Kos
Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Republicans Threaten To Block Future U.S. Embassy, Ambassador In Cuba
Republicans Threaten To Block Future U.S. Embassy, Ambassador In Cuba
Discussion:
Hot Air, Washington Post, Slantpoint and The World's Greatest …
ABC News:
Alan Gross: Cuba Releases American After Five Years in Prison
Alan Gross: Cuba Releases American After Five Years in Prison
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, Politico, Hot Air, abc11.com, ABC News, Outside the Beltway and Riptide 2.0
The White House:
Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes
Statement by the President on Cuba Policy Changes
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Daily Banter and Slantpoint
Washington Post:
Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana
Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba as American is released by Havana
Discussion:
Bloomberg View, Daily Signal and TVNewser
Justin Sink / The Hill:
In historic shift, Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba
In historic shift, Obama moves to normalize relations with Cuba
Discussion:
Politico, ABC News, Washington Post, Yahoo! News and Hot Air
Gregg Kilday / Hollywood Reporter:
Top Five Theater Circuits Drop ‘The Interview’ After Sony Hack — The country's largest chains won't be showing the movie — The country's top five theater circuits have decided not to play Sony's The Interview, a knowledgeable source tells The Hollywood Reporter.
Discussion:
The Moderate Voice, The Hill, WMAZ-TV, BBC, Talking Points Memo, Variety, National Review, The Dish, Associated Press, TIME, Inside Movies, Hot Air, UPROXX, The Verge, The Daily Caller, Boing Boing, Hit & Run, Gawker, AOL Article, NPR and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Brent Lang / Variety:
Sony Cancels Theatrical Release for ‘The Interview’ on Christmas — With theater chains defecting en masse, Sony Pictures Entertainment has pulled the planned Christmas Day release of “The Interview.” — In announcing the decision to cancel the holiday debut, Sony hit back at the hackers …
Discussion:
Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, The Gateway Pundit, Nerdist, Washington Post, The PJ Tatler and The Verge, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
U.S. Links North Korea to Sony Hacking — WASHINGTON — American intelligence officials have concluded that the North Korean government was “centrally involved” in the recent attacks on Sony Pictures's computers, a determination reached just as Sony on Wednesday canceled its release of the comedy …
Discussion:
CNNMoney.com, Deadline, Hollywood Reporter, Gawker, Inside Movies, Political Wire, The Verge, NBC News, The Huffington Post, The Daily Banter and EW.com
William Boot / The Daily Beast:
Exclusive: Sony Emails Say State Department Blessed Kim Jong-Un Assassination in ‘The Interview’
Exclusive: Sony Emails Say State Department Blessed Kim Jong-Un Assassination in ‘The Interview’
Kim Zetter / Wired:
The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy
The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy
Discussion:
New York Times, ABC News, Mediaite, CNNMoney.com, Vox, Raw Story and Outside the Beltway
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
The Obamas: How We Deal with Our Own Racist Experiences — The Obamas open up about raising their daughters, the impact of stereotypes, and what's on the POTUS dance party playlist. Subscribe now for instant access to the exclusive PEOPLE interview! — The protective bubble that comes …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Rush Limbaugh, Hot Air, National Review, ABC News, American Spectator, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, UPROXX, Mediaite, Washington Post, JustOneMinute, Hinterland Gazette, CNN, Gawker, Business Insider, Addicting Info, The Gateway Pundit, The PJ Tatler, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Bloomberg Politics and Right Wing Watch
RELATED:
Devin Dwyer / ABC News:
Obamas on Race: We've Been Treated Like the Help
Obamas on Race: We've Been Treated Like the Help
Discussion:
The Huffington Post
Lynette Rice / People.com:
Stephen Collins Confesses Sexual Abuse of Underage Girls to PEOPLE: ‘I Did Something Terribly Wrong’ — Embattled actor Stephen Collins has released a lengthy statement to PEOPLE in which he admits to inappropriate sexual contact with three female minors. — The 67-year-old …
Chris Davis / KCEN-TV:
Words Exchanged Before KCEN Employee Shot in Station Parking Lot — (KCEN) - Law enforcement officials have taken a man who was hold up inside of a house into custody. They are calling him a person of interest in the shooting of Patrick Crawford. But they are not saying whether or not he is the shooter.
New York Times:
Cuomo to Ban Fracking in New York State, Citing Health Risks — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration announced on Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State because of concerns over health risks, ending years of uncertainty over the disputed method of natural gas extraction.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Monthly, Tech Times, JustOneMinute, Daily Kos, Washington Post, BillMoyers.com, The Daily Caller and Gothamist
Chris Smith Gonzalez / The Galveston County Daily News:
Texas City plumber's truck ends up in Syrian war — TEXAS CITY — A local plumber is being flooded with phone calls — and some threats — after a picture of one of his old company vehicles being used by Islamist militants in Syria was posted on Twitter. — The picture was posted online …
Discussion:
ABC News, John Hawkins' Right Wing News and Raw Story
RELATED:
Alice Barr / KHOU-TV:
Texas City truck seen on Islamic military group's Twitter feed
Texas City truck seen on Islamic military group's Twitter feed
Discussion:
USA Today, Guns.com and The Daily Caller
Katherine Timpf / National Review:
U Michigan Department Chair: We Should ‘Hate Republicans’ — A University of Michigan department chairwoman has published an article titled, “It's Okay To Hate Republicans,” which will probably make all of her conservative students feel really comfortable and totally certain that they're being graded fairly.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Outside the Beltway and ProfessorBainbridge.com
Pew Research Center:
America's wealth gap between middle-income and upper-income families is widest on record — The wealth gap between America's high income group and everyone else has reached record high levels since the economic recovery from the Great Recession of 2007-09, with a clear trajectory …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Bloomberg Politics, Slantpoint, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and American Prospect
Nick Anderson / Washington Post:
Johns Hopkins mistakenly says ‘yes’ to hundreds of rejected applicants — Sam Stephenson was steeling himself for another round of college applications after his first choice, Johns Hopkins University, turned him down. Then the 17-year-old from Culpeper County in Virginia received an e-mail …
Discussion:
CNN
Phil / Uber Blog:
Our Commitment to Safety — Millions of people have come to rely on Uber for daily commutes, special nights out, and reliable transportation for their loved ones. Riders are served by the hundreds of thousands of Uber driver partners whose service reduces drunk and distracted driving …
Discussion:
New York Times, Mashable and The Verge
Josh Israel / ThinkProgress:
Terri Schiavo's Husband Speaks Out On Jeb Bush's Presidential Bid — Then-Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) discussing the Terri Schiavo case in March 2005 — In his announcement Tuesday that he would explore a 2016 presidential bid, former Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) promised to focus on …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Liberaland, The Daily Beast, The Daily Banter, BuzzFeed and Yahoo! News